Gregory Martyn returns to his estate in County Mayo to find that his wife has dies giving birth to Elinor, their fourth child. The hatred he conceives toward Elinor is undiminished by the passing years and is shared by his other daughter, Ester. As Elinor grows up she seeks refuge amongst the servants and is fired by their talk of Fenians, rebellions, and injustices against the poor to pledge herself to help the oppressed - a commitment that lasts all her life. 

Ester Martyn however has other ideas. Determined to escape dull, provincial Ireland, she moves to London and marries a wealthy English nobleman. 

Both sisters achieve their ambitions their ambitions; Elinor fighting in the front line for workers' rights, while Ester as Lady North controls the richest and most powerful family in England. But there is to be a final link between their divided lives, a terrible unintended revenge....